Internationalization was evident in a variety of contexts in The Netherlands in 1999. A revision of the Van Dale, the standard Dutch dictionary, published in September (the first revision since 1992), reflected this trend by demonstrating the increasing flexibility of various aspects of Dutch society, including the economy, expansion of the Internet, and internationalization of cuisine.

Internationalization and a move to increasing flexibility was also evident in the world of business. The Dutch metals giant Koninklijke Hoogovens NV fused with British Steel Corp. PLC to form Corus Group PLC; subsequently, the Dutch government, which throughout the 1990s had been selling stock it held in large companies, divested itself of its holdings in this company, with the proceeds, as customary, to be paid toward the national debt. International mergers and acquisitions proceeded apace: within one week in June, the Dutch beer giant Heineken NV acquired a Spanish brewery, which gave Heineken a one-third market share for beer in Spain, France, Italy, and Poland and a three-quarters share of the Greek market; ABN Amro Holdings NV, a banking conglomerate, purchased a small Egyptian securities brokerage firm; and Getronics NV acquired Wang Global, an American computer firm, for $2 billion. Koninklijke KPN NV, a Dutch telecommunications firm, expanded its holdings in the Irish Telecom Eireann as well as the Bulgarian Telecommunications Co.

Some 3,000 members of the Dutch armed forces took part in peace operations in the Balkans and elsewhere, and The Netherlands supported NATO efforts to end the conflict in Kosovo. Participation in the elections to the European Parliament reached a new low of less than 30%, however. The Netherlands was elected to a two-year term on the United Nations Security Council starting in 1999.

Concern with food safety reached new heights—some described it as hysteria—after several scares and scandals occurred in short succession. These involved various kinds of foods and food products, including Coca-Cola and several varieties of meat and poultry, which were recalled after being deemed unsafe. The government made food safety a high priority. The Dutch government and citizens continued to debate appropriate standards for awarding asylum and for the treatment of refugees, as well as appropriate compensation for victims of the Nazi occupation during World War II.

By September, the time of the queen’s annual speech from the throne, economic news was positive: the economy was judged to be “strong and resilient”; employment growth was “extremely favourable”; the government deficit for 2000 was projected at only one-half percent of gross domestic product; and the debt ratio was falling more quickly than expected.

Preparations were under way for commemorating the 400th anniversary of Dutch-Japanese relations in 2000; special exhibitions in a variety of historical and art museums were planned. The Nobel Prize for Physics for 1999 was awarded to two Dutch researchers, Gerardus ’t Hooft and Martinus J.G. Veltman, for their contributions toward a firmer mathematical foundation for particle physics theory. (SeeNobel Prizes.)

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